Among the bus rides and postgame spreads of a minor-league baseball season, rare is the day circled on a calendar.

That changed last week for Brent Morel and Brandon Roberts, two Centennial High and Cal Poly graduates whose paths crossed when Rochester (N.Y.) visited Charlotte (N.C.) for a Class-AAA series in the International League.

Peter Hirsch's first stint with the Bakersfield Condors lasted only a couple of months.

Condors coach Marty Raymond is banking that the Danish goaltender's second stint will be longer and much more successful.

Announcements

Baseball

Jeffrey Kirksey, who was a sophomore last season with the Bakersfield College men's basketball team, signed with St. Catherine College in Kentucky.

The Louisville native was a reserve point guard for the Renegades.

Centennial High and UCLA graduate Megan Langenfeld played a leading role for the U.S. National Softball Team last weekend in the Japan Cup.

Langenfeld was a combined 5-for-12 with six RBIs and pitched 91/3 scoreless innings as the U.S. won the event with a 3-1 record, culminating with a 5-0 victory against Japan on Sunday in Sendai, Japan.

Ten different drivers raced to victory in the first 10 Hobby Stock races this year at Bakersfield Speedway.

Then Bruce Johnson hit his stride.

The Bakersfield Jam of the NBA D-League has scheduled open tryouts for Aug. 28-29 at the Jam Events Center, 1400 Norris road in Bakersfield.

Open tryouts offer athletes an opportunity to showcase their talents in front of NBA Development League coaches while they compete to earn a position in the team's official training camp.

Liberty High is hiring a new wrestling coach and girls basketball coach for the upcoming season. If interested, fax a resume to Liberty High at (661) 587-1299, Attn: Tim Davis, or call (661) 587-0925, extension 139.

The Patriots are also organizing a program for their baseball alumni. Anyone who played baseball at Liberty at any level is encouraged to send name, address, e-mail address, phone number and any other information to charlene_lumsden@khsd.k12.ca.us.

Wrestling has been good to Shane Carwin. But the relationship between the menacing looking 6-foot-2, 265-pound Carwin and the sport is far from one- sided.

One month after taking to the octagon in pursuit of the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title, the former NCAA Division II wrestling champion is lending his hand to "Fight for Wrestling," a fundraiser which is being held for the three Cal State Bakersfield sports programs that must support themselves.

The recent story regarding the fisherman caught cheating during the US Open bass tournament at Lake Mead certainly raised some poignant questions for everyone involved in the sport. This is especially true for those who fished against the guilty party a lot of times over the years and literally got their lunches handed to them in a brown bag time after time. I know, because I donated an awful lot of times, apparently to his own, illegally gotten, retirement fund.

The well known Southland angler reportedly made over $200,000 in "earnings" over many events, and had gained the respect and admiration of thousands of his peers. While not exactly a household name like Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston or Kevin Van Dam, the man's fishing exploits became almost legendary among competitors in Western Outdoor News (WON) and American Bass Association (ABA) team events throughout California, Arizona and Nevada. Most recently, he and his partners managed to win most of the last nine events they fished, the shock and awe among other participants evident by their overwhelming success.

Kern County, southern San Joaquin Valley

BOB'S BAIT STRIPER DERBY: The month-long Bob's Bait Striper Derby kicked off August 1 with a $100 cash prize going to the angler who weighs in the biggest striper at Bob's Bait in Bakersfield during August. The current leader is Alfredo Vasquez, Bakersfield, with a seven-pounder he caught from the aqueduct. Pre-registration required. The winner of the July Catfish Derby was Henry Romero, Bakersfield, with a 14-pound cat from the aqueduct.

Rudy Carvajal was, quite literally, speaking inside one of his dreams.

Some 38 years after he became Cal State Bakersfield's athletic director surrounded by only "sagebrush and sand dunes," Carvajal announced his retirement, effective Dec. 31, Thursday inside the Icardo Center that's one of the countless signs of progress Carvajal leaves behind.

Rudy Carvajal, who built California State Bakersfield into one of the most successful Division II athletics programs in NCAA history and later helped the school achieve Division I status, will retire Dec. 31.

When Cal State Bakersfield announced it would have to cut the school's wrestling, tennis and golf programs, the wrestling team decided it would fight for survival.

The latest way it's doing that is with, well, fighting.

Hey buddy, can I borrow your car on Saturday night? I promise I won't put too many miles on it. Just out to Oildale and back. I'll even give it a hand wash before returning it on Sunday morning.

I'd drive my own car but I'm not too sure how my 8,000-pound Chevy Suburban with an 8.1-liter engine would handle on the Bakersfield Speedway third-mile clay oval.

Stephen Hale and Bhavik Patel were both invited to compete in the 44th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship, one of the most prestigious amateur golf tournaments in the United States.

Last week, on the par-71 Eugene Country Club golf course in Eugene, Ore., Hale finished 24th and Patel 45th after 72 holes on the 7,051 yard beauty of a golf course in the Pacific Northwest.

BY ZACH EWING

It's like a lotto ticket, only if you had to earn your winnings.

Announcements

Baseball

Former Mixed Martial Arts heavyweight champion Shane Carwin will be coming to Bakersfield on Saturday to help promote the Fight for Wrestling MMA fundraising event that Cal State Bakersfield's wrestling team has organized for Aug. 14.

Carwin will appear at Max Muscle, 3615 Coffee Rd., between noon and 4 p.m. He is ranked No. 5 among the world's heavyweights by Sherdog and was the Ultimate Fighting Championship's interim heavyweight champion until suffering his first professional loss, to Brock Lesnar at UFC 116, on July 3.

The 2010 Golden Empire United States Bowling Congress Adults Awards Banquet will be held on Aug. 14 at the Eagles Hall downtown (corner of 17th & H). Social hour is from 6-7 p. m. with the dinner at 7 p. m. Banquet is open to any local bowler and cost to attend is $15 per person for their choice of a steak or chicken dinner.

This annual banquet is being held a lot later this year due to Bakersfield hosting the 2010 State Open Championships, which concluded July 5.